Ben Horowitz
Ben Horowitz is a cofounder and general partner at the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, and he writes and speaks publicly about AI policy and open-source models. He was vice president of Netscape's Directory and Security product line from 1997 to 1998, and he was cofounder and CEO of Opsware, formerly Loudcloud, when Hewlett-Packard bought the company for $1.6 billion in 2007. In 2009 he and Marc Andreessen built a16z on the conviction that software would eat the world. In December 2023 he published the a16z post 'Politics and the Future', which says AI must not be choked off in its infancy. In 2026 he discussed AI investing and open-source models on the a16z podcast.
Timeline
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1995–1998
Netscape's Directory and Security line
He joins Netscape in July 1995 after senior product marketing roles at Lotus Development Corporation. From 1997 to 1998 he serves as vice president of Netscape's Directory and Security product line.
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2007
Selling Opsware to HP
He serves as cofounder and CEO of Opsware, formerly Loudcloud, when Hewlett-Packard buys the company for $1.6 billion in 2007.
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2009
Co-founding Andreessen Horowitz
He and Marc Andreessen build a16z in 2009 on the conviction that software would eat the world.
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December 2023
A post on AI policy
He writes the a16z post 'Politics and the Future', which says AI must not be choked off in its infancy.
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January 2026
Podcast on AI investing
On the a16z podcast in January 2026, he discusses AI investing and explains why application design and model orchestration matter more than raw model size.
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July 2026
Podcast on open-source AI
On the a16z podcast in July 2026, he discusses open-source AI models and explains why he believes open source is critical for security, innovation and competition.
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As of October 2026
Cofounder and general partner
He is a cofounder and general partner at the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz.
Sources and credits
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- Ben Horowitz, Partner at Andreessen Horowitz
- Ben Horowitz - Wikipedia
- HP To Acquire Opsware For $1.6 Billion | InformationWeek
- About | Andreessen Horowitz
- Politics and the Future | Andreessen Horowitz
- Ben Horowitz on Investing in AI: AI Bubbles, Economic Impact, and VC Acceleration | Andreessen Horowitz
- Ben Horowitz: The Fight Over Open Source AI | Andreessen Horowitz